When an emergency weather alert went out the weekend before Thanksgiving, Ken Burris broadcast the alert to hundreds of homeless people — via voice mail and an Internet blog.
When a free breast cancer screening clinic was scheduled, Burris put out the word. And when there’s a free museum night at OMSI or an open event for kids at the Water Resources Education Center, Burris gets it out there via voice mail and the Web.
o What: Art sale to raise money for the Council for the Homeless community voice mail service. Forty original artworks by local artists have been donated for the sale.
o Where: Former Spanky’s storefront at 812 Main St.
o When: 2 to 9 p.m. Friday.
o Who: Hosted by Vancouver’s Downtown Association.
o Information: Ken Burris, 360-699-5106, ext. 102.
Burris is the coordinator of the community voice mail program maintained by the Council for the Homeless. Hundreds of people in Clark County who don’t have a fixed place to live use free voice mail boxes to receive messages from case workers and counselors, clinics and child care workers — not to mention potential employers and landlords.
o What: Art sale to raise money for the Council for the Homeless community voice mail service. Forty original artworks by local artists have been donated for the sale.
o Where: Former Spanky's storefront at 812 Main St.
o When: 2 to 9 p.m. Friday.
o Who: Hosted by Vancouver's Downtown Association.
o Information: Ken Burris, 360-699-5106, ext. 102.
“The homeless are notoriously hard to find,” Burris said. “I am promoting voice mail as one more tool in their toolbox of solutions.”
Recently they’ve also been receiving messages from Burris himself. His role has evolved from maintaining and publicizing the voice mail service to using that service to spread important news, information and opportunities to its users.
“I am really trying to increase the value of this service,” he said.
Here’s another announcement Burris could send out: On Friday, an art sale will support the community voice mail program — to help keep it free and fully functioning, he said. As many as 40 original works of art have been donated by local artists. The event is set for 2 to 9 p.m. in the downtown Vancouver storefront that used to house Spanky’s, at 812 Main St. Wine, cheese and desserts will be served.
Multimedia
Burris said his system currently has the capacity to operate 599 voice mail boxes, and 530 are now in use. They are assigned, five at a time, through 41 local agencies, including Share and the Salvation Army — nonprofit organizations that deal directly with homeless people. In 2009, the program served 783 different people. It takes just a few minutes to sign up, and users record their own outgoing messages. Those messages sound just like anybody else’s answering machine message — not revealing any information about homelessness.
You can learn more at http://www.icfth.com/com_voice_mail. Or call Burris at 360-699-5106, ext. 102.
The idea of putting additional information into the voice mail system — the broadcasts of useful news, free opportunities and possible job openings — came to Burris after he worked the phones for the Emergency Shelter Clearinghouse, a phone bank striving to find services for people in need.
What he heard over and over, he said, was the voice of despair. “It struck me as so sad that our callers had such a flat affect,” he said.
Burris realized his voice mail system could be a place where he could deliver regular messages of hope.
“If I were homeless, what kinds of opportunities would I want to hear about? Health care, housing and jobs,” he said. Plus, he added, he’d want to know how he could entertain his children for free.
“I try to include as many fun, free, family events as I can,” he said. “To help people normalize their existence, to help them get some relief from the tedium of chasing their needs.”
Right now he’s working on a broadcast based on a Columbian story about 10 local companies that are growing despite the economic malaise, he said.
These days, Burris records a message for his clients’ voice mail boxes approximately three times per week. There’s also a monthly welcome to folks who are new to the system. If you’re not interested in Burris’ messages, there’s a way to skip them. If you’ve got feedback for him, there’s a single-button way to respond. But you can’t opt out of Burris’ messages entirely.
“We seem to be in the vanguard of using community voice mail for broadcasts,” Burris said. There are 44 community voice mail systems in the United States, Canada and France, he said, but precious few have been exploring possibilities like this.
In fact, today’s multimedia universe has spurred Burris to become a multiplatform broadcaster. Whenever he’s got a bulletin, he said, the community voice mail system is only the first place it goes — there’s also Facebook, two Internet message boards shared by social service agencies — professionals and clients — and an Internet blog Burris maintains at http://cvmvancouver.blogspot.com.
Although the public pay telephone is disappearing fast, Burris said the people receiving his voice mail messages get them via the phones of friends and family members, free phones at homeless shelters and social service agencies as well as public phones at the library and other public facilities.
Avoiding charges
Cheryl Pfaff, president of the Council for the Homeless, said the annual budget for the community voice mail program is approximately $45,000 — including Burris’ part-time salary — which is cobbled together from a number of local public and private sources. But this year several corporate sponsors did not renew their support, and Burris was afraid he’d have to start charging $1 per box for the previously free voice mail service.
Desperate for help, Burris turned to the community of artists he’s friendly with in the Vancouver-Portland area. Their enthusiasm was immediate and huge, he said.
“This is a cause I believe in,” watercolorist Bev Jozwiak said. “I have a schizophrenic sister, and although she is doing well now, she has lived on the street. I know not everyone has a choice in homelessness.”
In addition to Jozwiak, local artists Barbara Matkowski, Vicki Nelson and John Fishback have contributed pieces. There are paintings, glass, drawings, sculptures, wood carvings, signed books and more. Burris said artists have sent pieces from as far away as San Francisco and Los Angeles.
“I asked everyone I knew with an easel and a brush,” Burris said. “I didn’t expect such a response and I didn’t expect the quality. It’s been amazing.”
Scott Hewitt: 360-735-4525 or scott.hewitt@columbian.com.
